Was PS4 reveal a glorified tease?

On Wednesday, Feb. 20th, Sony confirmed that yes, the PlayStation 4 is real and coming out this year. Sony also showed several games coming out on the new system, gameplay footage, great-looking cutscenes and CGI, and even showed off the system’s touchpad controller. After the dust settled, questions about the new console remained. What does it look like? How much does it cost? If you are going to announce a new device, not showing the device is a huge red flag. Not giving a ballpark price is just as suspect.

Maybe I missed the memo, but if I was unveiling an item, let’s say, a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, at an event, I don’t want to see a steering wheel or a hood. I fully expect to see the car and wouldn’t mind hearing it cranked up and roar for a spell.

The other thing in my mind while I watched the event was how nice the footage and screenshots looked, but nothing that really knocked it out of the park. The graphics look very similar to current generation consoles. There isn’t a huge jump graphically that made me think ‘This is truly cutting edge!’ No, I have seen PC games that look better than what we saw last night on the PS4.

I’ll reserve judgment about the PS4 until I bag some time with the console. I definitely want to get more information on the device – will it play PS3 games, will it play rented/used games – and see what Microsoft’s response to the PS4 announcement is.

Going forward, I expect Sony to show the console at E3 and give gaming journos some one-on-one time with the device. It would have been nice to see the device last night – we saw the camera and the controller – but the guest of honor was MIA.
The *reveal* verdict? D. You reveal your next console, you show off footage and screens from upcoming games but no one, not even Jesus Christ Himself, knows what the console looks like. My bet? It’s very similar to the leaked photos all over the Web now. While the games look slick, there’s nothing that’s truly revolutionary.

So, what do you think? Did you expect more at the PS4 reveal? Sound off below!

UPDATE: Here is a list of games that were shown at the PS4 reveal:

Knack, a quirky and charming-looking title featuring a small robot.
Killzone: Shadow Fall, a first-person shooter game that takes place in a dystopian future where all heck breaks loose.
Driveclub, the next racing game from Evolution Studios where players drive as part of a team against user-controlled in-game driving clubs from all over the world.
iNFamous Second Son, a game from developer Sucker Punch that features an underground of superhumans fighting to bring the social liberties and freedoms that have been (as some might say) compromised in Western society.
The Witness, a colorful open-world puzzle-based game from indie developer Jonathan Blow.
Beyond: Two Souls, the previously-announced title from developer Quantic Dream starring Katie Holmes.
Deep Dawn, a new title running on Capcom’s new engine designed specifically for PlayStation 4.
A new Final Fantasy title to be made on Square-Enix’s Luminous Engine that the company will debut at the 2013 E3 Expo in June.
Watch Dogs, an open world action-adventure game from Ubisoft.
The previously-mentioned Diablo III for PS3 and PS4. This will be the first time developer/publisher Blizzard would have ever released a game onto a video game console.
Destiny, a recently-announced FPS title from Halo developer Bungie. This game will be available as both a PS3 and PS4 title.